Naval Mutations
by They Call Me Alpha
Summary: From a rich family in London, England, comes a girl by the name of Madison Redmond. Madison is moving to the state to live with her Uncle Ducky for the duration of her internship with NCIS. Look at my Profile Page for more info. Reviews are loved greatly!
1. A New Start to a New Day

**A/N:** This is my disclaimer, I do not own the TV characters of NCIS.

**Naval Mutations**

**Chapter 1: A New Start to a New Day**

I woke up this morning with an exceptionally large smile on my face. Today was the day that I was going to travel to America to live with my Uncle Donald Mallard, _and_ start my first intern program with none other than NCIS. Glancing at the clock, I jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom to shower for my flight. Once I was all clean and ready, I double checked to make sure that I had everything that I would need for the next year or so. _Three suitcases for clothes, two for shoes, one for make-up, toiletries, and hair accessories, another for my electronics, and a carry-on with my cell phone, lip gloss, ticket, gum, iTouch, and headphones_ I thought, _yep that's everything_. I smiled once more to myself as I slipped into a pair of white ankle socks, black Pumas, jean shorts, and a light blue Hollister T-shirt. Then I quickly descended the marble staircase to wear my parents were waiting for me.

One by one, I watched as our butlers – James, Tom, and Jerry – carried my suitcases down the stairs and loaded them into the limousine that was waiting out front. Once they were done I said my goodbyes to my parents and sat myself in the back seat of the limo, waving to them through the open window. I rolled up my window as we neared the front gate. Surrounding the entrance to my home was none other than the mountains of paparazzi that undoubtedly got wind of my expedition. I left out an exasperated sigh, knowing that they couldn't see my expression through the tinted glass windows. "Richard?" I asked my driver, "Will there be this many of them in America, too?" "I don't believe so Miss. Redmond," he replied with a smile, "Your parents have told them that you are going overseas to Ireland to further your studies in forensics." I smiled to myself, happy to have them out of my hair for the time being.

We finally stopped at my family's privet airport. Richard opened the door form me then proceeded to unload my relatively large amount of luggage. I was quickly shuffled into the plane as the crew helped to load my luggage, waving goodbye to Richard as he drove off of the runway. The flight attendant informed me that we would be arriving in America in roughly seven hours. I thanked her and laid back in my reclining chair, hoping to get some more shut-eye before the sun came up. The engine hummed to life and I shut my eyes, beginning my journey to America.


	2. Uncle Ducky

**Chapter Two: Uncle Ducky**

I arrived in America at 8:00AM that morning. I stared at the clock for a moment before remembering the time change. We had been traveling for seven hours straight but since we were going against the time zones, it only seemed like two hours had passed. I stood up stretching out my stiff limbs, before exiting the plane. Along the side of the runway stood none other than my Uncle Donald Mallard. "Uncle Ducky!" I squealed, running over to give him a hug, "I've missed you so much!" He released me moments later to introduce me to the blue-eyed man standing next to him. "Madison, it's so good to see you again after all these years," he started, "please, allow me to introduce you to one of my best friends and most trusted colleagues, Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs." I curtsied and put my hand out for him to shake. "Madison Jayde Redmond, at your service, Sir," I replied as he shook my hand. He smiled, but I didn't let slip the sliver of uncertainness that flashed through his striking blue eyes.

He released my hand as one of the flight attendants tapped my on the shoulder. "Miss. Redmond," she said, hesitantly, "your limousine is here for you now." I gave her a smile and asked to have my luggage loaded into the trunk. She curtsied, smiling, and walked over to the limo driver, as I turned back to Agent Gibbs and Uncle Ducky. "Do you guys want to ride in the limo with me?" I asked, noticing the taxi waiting behind them, "it would give us a perfect chance to catch up and what not, Uncle Ducky," I smiled as he nodded in affirmation. Charley, my driver for my stay in America, opened the door for us as we slid in the back, Uncle Ducky and Gibbs sitting opposite me. "So Madison," started Uncle Ducky, "How is life back across the pond?" "Everything's been great!" I smiled, flashing my perfectly white teeth, "I graduated from Schiller International Prep School almost three years ago. Since then I've been studying forensic sciences and looking at internships before I start college at Pennsylvania State University in the fall. On top of that, I've also earned my seventh degree black belt in karate, my 7-nanadan ranking in kendo, and I've moved into the intermediate kickboxing training sessions." I smiled, at the list of my accomplishments. "My, my, you sure have been busy since I last saw you," replied Uncle Ducky, "and you have grown into such a mature young lady," I smiled back at him, blushing slightly.

Finally, after an hour's drive, the engine turned off and Charley appeared at the door. I looked around, slightly confused by our location. "I don't mean to be rude," I said, stepping out of the car after the two gentlemen, "but where are we?" My question was answered by Gibbs. "NCIS headquarters," he said, those two words being the only thing that he had said to me. We walked into the building in a comfortable silence, got my visitation pass, and walked down the stair to where Gibbs said a majority of his teams was.

As we descended the stairs, I took notice to the three pairs of eyes staring at me. "David, McGee, DiNozzo, front and center," said Gibbs in a rather unenthused tone of voice. "This is Madison Jayde Redmond, Ducky's Niece, and our new intern," he continued, presenting me to the other agents. "Agent Anthony DiNozzo," said one of the guys as he extended his hand for me to shake, "but you can call me Tony," he finished with a wink. This only earned him a jab in the side from the girl to his right. "I am Ziva David, it's a pleasure to meet you Miss Redmond," I shook her hand, "please," I smiled, "call me Madi." She smiled back and released my hand. I turned to the last agent standing before me. "Tim McGee," he smiled, it was the first genuine one that I had seen all day, well other than my Uncle Ducky of course. After introductions were over, I was led to the elevator to see another member of Team Gibbs.

The elevator doors opened on the ground level of the building. The only thing that could be heard as we walked into the room was the sound of Suicide Commando's hit single Comatose Delusion, one of my favorite songs. "Abby!" yelled Gibbs over the sound of the music. The song was instantly muted. "Aw, Gibbs," she wined, "why didn't you tell me that we were going to be having a visitor? I would have cleaned up or something," she gestured to a bath tub and her chemical-lined table. I took a better look at the tub, realizing that the grime caked to the inside of it was from the mixture of acid and decomposing bodies. I then looked up at the computer to see a finger print scan taking place. _They must have been in the middle of a case when I got in_ I thought to myself. Then, briefly studying some of the chemicals on the table, I realized what the case was about. "Serial killer?" I questioned the Goth. "Excuse me?" she responded, having been caught off guard by my question. "The case that you're working on," I elaborated, "It's a serial murder, right?" I looked at her hopefully. I noticed as both Uncle Ducky's and Gibbs' eyes widened in surprise. "Yeah," said the pig-tailed girl before me "the tub gave it away didn't it?" "Yeah, well that and the fact that it smells like decomposing flesh mixed with…" I trailed off sniffing the air again, "would that be hydrofluoric acid?" I questioned. A look of realization crossed her features as she rushed to her computer, furiously tapping the keys.

After a few moments she stopped, turning to me with a rather enthralled expression. "Gibbs," she said, "who is this?" I cut him off saying: "Madison Jayde Redmond, Uncle Ducky's niece, and your team's new intern." She stared at me for another minute before opening her mouth to talk again. "You just solved the answer to the unknown chemical; I've been trying to figure that out for the past three hours," her eyes widened in joy, "How'd ya do it?" "Um…" I panicked, I had only known the chemical because of the scent, something that was far more acute then anything a human nose could pick up. I looked around at each of them, wracking my brain for another way I could have known the chemical without having an affiliation with the crime or my super nose. My eyes landed on the blue eyes of Gibbs. "Lucky guess?" I responded, my eyes not leaving Gibbs'. _He knows that I'm lying_ I thought, as the left corner of his mouth tilted upward, ever-so-slightly. _Damn!_ "Well Madison, I have to go and get my stuff from autopsy, I'll meet you back upstairs," said Uncle Ducky as both him and Gibbs walked into the elevator, leaving me and Abby by ourselves.

"So you like Suicide Commando, too?" I asked, trying to break the semi-awkward tension of the room. A bright smile lit up her features, "Yeah, my favorite album of theirs is Axis of Evil, but I love their singles, too," she said, "I didn't think that anyone else listened to them." "Same here," I said our smiles growing bigger by the second, "what about METH 101 by Brain Matter?" I questioned. "What about them? I love them!" she squealed, "They're only my all time favorite band!" "Same here!" I squealed as she enveloped my in a hug. "Aw, Mads, you're like the little sister that I never had!" She said, hugging me even tighter. I smiled, returning the favor, and relishing the moment; which automatically ended at the clearing of someone's throat. "Hey, Tony, have you met Madison?" asked Abby, as she got back to work. "Yeah, I have," he said, then looked at me, "Ducky's waiting for you upstairs in the lobby." I nodded and said thank you. "I'll see you tomorrow Abby!" I called from the elevator, as Tony stepped in. She waved good bye as the doors closed.

We were halfway between Abby's lab and the first floor when Gibbs stopped the elevator. "You're hiding something," he announced, staring down at the button he had just pressed. "I… don't know what you're talking about," I stuttered, searching the ceiling for a camera that would capture my impending breakdown. "No one's watching," he said, taking a step towards me. "Now, do you want to tell me exactly what it is that you're hiding?" He took another step forward, searching my violet eyes for answers. I took a step back, panic welling in my chest as my back pressed against the corner of the metal compartment. He took another step, inches away from my shaking figure. That's when my claustrophobia started to get the best of me. I shoved him away, pushing him into the opposite wall of the elevator. "Please," I pleaded, sliding down the wall into a fetal position, "let me out of here." I closed my eyes, burying my head in my arms, trying to calm my breathing. Claustrophobia had only started being a problem for me after I was bitten, I mean, animals plus small spaces are never good. A few moments of silence passed before I heard the elevator engine starting up again. I leaned my head back against the cool metal of the wall and opened my eyes to reveal a hand. I took it and Gibbs pulled me to my feet as the elevator stopped once more, at our designated location. I let out a deep breath, exiting the containment unit. "What you want to know will surface in time," I said, glancing back at him as I walked through the empty bullpen. "But for now," I continued, "Don't look too much into it." I continue my walk into the parking lot where I found Uncle Ducky along with the rest of the agents waiting for me.

I gave him a confused look as both Gibbs and Abby appeared from behind me to go stand with the small group. "I've decided to throw you a little house warming party of sorts, in honor of your journey to the states," explained Uncle Ducky. I smiled, walking over to hug him. "Thank you, Uncle Ducky." He returned the gesture, letting me go as the limousine pulled into the lot. I glanced back at the team, trying to contain myself as Tony's eyes grew, taking in the vehicle before them. Charley, my driver, quickly cut the engine and exited the car, opening the rear door for me. I walked over to Charley and politely asked if he would be able to drop off the agents back here later tonight. He obliged with a tip of his drivers cap. I walked back over to the agent who stood there quietly as the exchange took place. "Charley says that he can drop you guys off to get your cars later tonight," I announced to the expectant group. "So," I continued, "who wants to ride in the limo?" They all – excluding Gibbs and Uncle Ducky – looked behind me at the black Hummer Stretch. Tony and Tim then proceeded to make a run for the seat next to the miniature wet bar. Ziva, Abby, and I all let out a exasperated sigh, "Boys," we said in unison. We exchanged looks before we all burst out laughing and walked to the limo. Gibbs rolled his eyes, him and Uncle Ducky following closely behind us.


	3. Chryslers and Crime Scenes

**Chapter Three: Chryslers and Crime Scenes**

The entire car ride home was filled with laughter, smiles, and more introductions. While in the limo, I learned that Tim, who was nicknamed "McGeek" by Tony, is the "techy," so to speak, of team Gibbs, a junior field agent, and an MIT graduate. I learned that Tony was like a younger version of Gibbs – always following his gut and protecting those who are important to him. I learned that Ziva, who had just recently attained her citizenship, was a former Mossad agent whom who father sent out on a suicide mission, then later, joined NCIS. Uncle Ducky also told me about his medical assistant, Mr Jimmy Palmer, a rather distracted young man that would be meeting us all at the house later that evening. Gibbs, however, remained silent for the duration of the ride, observing my every move. At one point during the ride, I caught him staring. _As if that would get you any closer to my secret _I sneered inwardly, smirking to myself. I just glared back until he smiled and turned away. _Note to self_, I thought, _Gibbs= strange blue-eyed man who laughs when people glare at him._ I stashed that little note deep in my subconscious for later. When we finally arrived at Uncle Ducky's mansion-like house, every one helped me carry in my luggage, silently thanking me for the free limo ride.

My luggage was put on the floor of my room, on the west side of the second floor. My room was painted royal purple with white trim and a light violet colored ceiling. The floor was carpeted with a soft violet rug that matched the ceiling perfectly. Attached to the room are a fairly large walk-in closet and a personal bathroom – complete with a huge whirlpool bath tub. I smiled contently, sitting down on my plush, queen-size bed. "Do you like it?" Uncle Ducky asked, appearing in the doorway. I smiled, getting up to hug the man for the millionth time that day. "I love it, Uncle Ducky, thank you, for everything." I squeezed him tighter. "Nonsense, my dear," he said, releasing me, "you know I'd do anything for my favorite niece." "I'm your only niece, Uncle Ducky," I laughed. He smiled, kissed my forehead, and went back downstairs to entertain our guests.

I was in the midst of unpacking one of my many suitcases, when I heard a knock on my door frame. I looked up to be met with Abby's moss green eyes, hovering in my doorway. "Hey Abby," I said, "what can I do for you?" "The question is not what can you do for me," said Abby, walking into the room, "but what can I do for you?" "Kennedy?" I questioned the origin of the quote. Her smile grew as she gave me a sharp nod, picking up my suitcase filled with my electronics and music. I had brought three surround sound stereo systems – one for each room – my iPad and docking system, three iPod nanos – one red, one black, and one violet – a few sets of head phones and a small portion (121) of my CDs.

Abby just stared at the surplus of music and electronics that sat before her. "Abby?" I said, snapping her out of her trance. She rushed over to me, squeezing the life out of me with a hug. "Aw, Madi, you're like the little sister that I've always wanted!" I smiled and hugged her back. "Aw, Abby, I feel the same way about you!" We released each other at the sound of a knock at the door. I opened it up to reveal McGee. "Ducky sent me up to get you," he explained, "there's a man at the door saying something about a snake or something." My face lit up as I brushed passed him and ran down the stairs. Running outside, I was greeted by a man who had pulled up in one of my mom's boutique vans. Using the highest degree of caution, he lifted my baby out of the trunk. "Your father had it registered for you this morning," said the man as I signed the delivery papers.

I heard the front door open as the man got back in his car and drove off. I looked over to see Abby, Tony, and Tim walking towards me. "This," I said, patting the imported leather seat of my bike, "is the Black Mamba." I saw a wave of relief pass through Tim's eyes, thankful that the "black mamba" that the delivery man was referring to was a motorcycle and not a highly venomous snake. Abby was the first to make a move, running her fingers over the soft leather seat. "Where did you get this?" she asked, facing me, a confused expression painted on her face, "I've never seen anything like it." "That's because there's not anything like it," I said, "at least not on this planet." She looked at me like I was crazy, waiting for me to proceed. "I built it myself," I elaborated, "engine and all." They all stared at me, mouths agape and eyes wide in disbelief. "There is no way you built this," said Tony, only half aware of the words that had just been spoken. "And why would that be, Agent DiNozzo?" I challenged, ticked off by his sexist attitude. I glared at him for a moment longer before letting out a sigh and letting go of it. "So," I said, picking up my helmet, "who wants a ride?"

I tossed Abby a helmet and mounted my bike; she jumped on behind me. I flipped open a panel on the body work to reveal a print-scanning LED touch screen. "Nice," Abby commented, looking over my shoulder. I smiled and pressed my right index finger to the scanner. Suddenly, the near-silent engine came to life and the violet LED head lights glowed. I typed a few codes into the screen and shut my visor as Social Distortion blasted through the helmet's speaker system. A virtual map lit up the inside of my visor as we sped away down the street, creating a street view of the DC area inside my helmet. I sped down a few side streets, getting a feel for the area before I heard Abby say something through the helmet's com-link. "Hey Madi, do you think we could swing by the lab real quick? I forgot my hippo." "Your hippo?" I questioned, not seeing a semi-aquatic mammal in her lab earlier that afternoon. "Yeah, Bert, the farting hippo. I must have forgot him in the lab when we were all leaving to go to Ducky's house." she clarified; I could almost hear the smile in her voice. "Okay then," I said, hitting the breaks and spinning the tail end of my bike into an impromptu u-turn.

Pulling into the lot, I cut the engine and let Abby off. "I'll be quick," she said, running off towards the building. I stood up, took off my helmet, and shook out my long blonde hair, stretching my stiff limbs in the process. I then proceeded to walk around the lot for a bit, examining the agents' cars. Then something caught my eye. I walked up to a sleek Navy Blue Chrysler 300, admiring the handy work of the body's mainframe. I was next to the driver's side mirror when I saw the blood. I ran back to the trunk of the car, where the blood was dripping from. I quickly scanned the lot for anyone's presence, before hunching and pulling a bobby pin from my hair. I quickly sharpened it with my razor sharp nails and proceeded to pick the lock.

The familiar click sounded from the lock as I turned the pin. The hood of the trunk rose, shedding light on the near-dead woman in the trunk. She was unconscious and had three bullet wounds in the upper left portion of her body. I carefully lifted her up and placed her on the ground behind the car. I put my head close to her chest, listening for a heartbeat. It was extremely faint, but it was there. Applying pressure to the most serious of her wounds, I kept a highly trained ear out for anyone and anything that might be approaching. Suddenly, I heard the sound of a cell phone ringing in the woman's pocket. I fished it out with one hand and looked at the caller ID. _Gibbs_ I thought, _thank you Lord!_ I flipped it open. "Gibbs, it's Madi, get an ambulance over to NCIS ASAP!" I yelled through the phone. I heard it click off, ending the call before I could say anything else.

That's when Abby came out of the building, carrying her grey stuffed animal and a ring of keys. "Abby!" I yelled out, "Come here quick!" She ran towards me, tossing her stuff on the hood of a car. "Director Sheppard!" she gasped, tears welling in her eyes. "Abby? Abby, listen to me, okay?" I said, literally smelling the panic oozing from her pores. She nodded her head, a few tears gliding down her face. "I need you to let me use your phone," I said gently, "call Gibbs and put him on speaker; then I need you to get the med kit from the trunk of my bike." She nodded once more, pulling out her phone with a shaky hand and hitting a few buttons. After a moment, she put the phone down on the ground next to me and walked to get my med kit from my bike. "The code to the trunk is seventy five, forty three!" I called after her. That's when Gibbs picked up the phone. "Where the hell is my ambulance, Gibbs?" I yelled at the phone. "On its way, what the hell is going on over there, Redmond?" I growled to myself, not taking lightly to being called by my last name. "I was walking around the parking lot because Abby had forgotten something in her lab. I was looking around at the cars when I saw the pool of blood at the trunk end of the Chrysler. I picked the lock only to find a body inside," I paused for a moment, taking the equipment from Abby. "She's going to be okay," I assured her with a sympathetic smile. "Who is?" Gibbs yelled through the phone line. "Director Sheppard," replied Abby, beginning to calm down with the reassuring news. "I found the director in the trunk of the car. Two bullets in her left humorous, one in her left deltoid muscle, I'm working now to get them out," I said, grabbing some forceps from the med kit. I heard the revving of an engine on Gibbs' end of the line before he ended the call.

I let out a sigh, carefully pulling out and examining the first bullet. "It's a CQTA," said Abby as I dropped the bullet in an evidence container. "Close Quarters Target Ammunition?" I confirmed, "Well that _would _explain why the slug didn't hit too much bone." I dressed the wound in gauze and was about to get to work on the second one when I heard the squeal of rubber against asphalt. Then came the sirens. Before I knew it, Gibbs was out of the ambulance and squatting next to me. "You commandeered an ambulance?" I yelled at him as Tony rolled the gurney over to us. Ziva smiled proudly as Gibbs helped me move the director from the ground to the stretcher. Since there was obviously no medic with them, I hopped in the back with Gibbs, throwing Tony the keys for manual operation of my bike. "Don't break her, or else I'll break you!" I threatened Tony as Ziva shut the back doors, her and Abby sitting up front. I felt the ambulance speed off. Gibbs opened the separating window between us and the two female agents. "Careful, Ziva," warned Gibbs, "there's a CCP back here!" I rolled my eyes, ignoring everyone as I extracted the second bullet. I placed it in another evidence container and patched up the hole as the ambulance came screeching to an abrupt halt.

The blinding sunlight filled the rear compartment as Ziva threw open the doors. "The medics have an operating room and life support system prepped and ready to use if necessary," said Tony, who appeared at my side as we uploaded the director. I nodded my head as we ran alongside the gurney and into the hospital. The stretcher was handed off to the head doctor, who proceeded to bring her into the operating room.


	4. Decisions, Decisions

**Chapter Four: Decisions, Decisions**

We sat in the hospital waiting room for two hours straight. A tense silence had settled over the group and it was getting old fast. "Okay," I announced, standing up, "It's 11:00PM so I'm buying coffee, anyone want some?" Everyone looked up at me with tired eyes." Well, everyone except for Gibbs, but, I mean, come on, he's Gibbs. Tony stood up, "I'll help you," he said, following me out of the waiting area. We walked in a comfortable silence, neither one of us really in the mood for conversation.

Five minute later, we arrived at the hospital's café. We walked up to the counter to place our order. "Hi," said Tony, "can we get one large black coffee, a medium hazelnut coffee, a medium cinnamon coffee, a medium mocha latte, a medium earl grey tea, a large caff-pow, and…" He trailed off, allowing me to order something to drink. "And a large French Vanilla coffee," I concluded, fishing my black diamond master card outside of my pocket. Tony gave me a look, saying that he would get the bill. I shook my head, "My treat," I told him. Five minutes later we found ourselves walking back to the waiting room, drinks in hand.

"Cinnamon, for Ziva," said Tony, handing Ziva her drink. "Tea for Ducky, Hazelnut for Probie, Caff-pow for Abby, Mocha for me, and… where's Gibbs?" I looked down the hallway to see his familiar head of grey hair following after a man in a white lab coat. "I got it," I told Tony, taking the coffee and following after Gibbs. I called out his name and he turned around, searching the narrow hallway for the perpetrator. I raised his coffee in the air above my 5'10" stature. He saw me and gave me a signal to follow him. I finally caught up to him as they got in an elevator and handed Gibbs his said, "_this_ is Madison Redmond." The doctor went through a brief phase of confusion before reaching out to shake my hand. "Congratulations, Madison," said Doctor Marx, "you're a hero." Then it was my turn to look confused. "When you extracted the first two bullets and attended to the Director's wounds, you cut off the window for more blood loss. If she had bled out for much longer she would have died," he elaborated, "you saved her life." I stared at him in disbelief. I mean, yeah, I knew that she had lost a lot of blood, but I didn't think that it would be enough to prove to be nearly fatal. _I had saved a life_, the thought brought me a sense of pride.

We stepped out of the elevator on the eighth floor and walked to room 812. Director Sheppard was sitting upright in her bed, her left arm was casted up to her shoulder and some other places were dressed with gauze. "Director Sheppard," she Doctor Marx, "this is Madison Redmond; she executed the proper medical procedures necessary to save your life pre-admittance to the hospital." The Director sat there, a blank expression on her face, soaking in everything that she had just been told. "You're Ducky's niece?" she asked, her blank expression changing to one of acknowledgement. "Come here, Madison," she said, beckoning me to her side. I walked to her side, setting my half-empty coffee down on the side table and sitting down in the chair next to her bed. "Gentlemen, if you please," she said to Gibbs and Doctor Marx, who were waiting patiently next to the door. Gibbs took the hint and ushered Doctor Marx out of the room, shutting the door behind them.

"I wanted to thank you personally for what you did back there," said the Director, "I owe you my life." I opened my mouth but she put a hand up, cutting me off. "And to show you my gratitude for your brave act of heroism, I have an offer for you." I looked at her expectantly, wonder just what in the world her offer could be. "How would you like to start training to become a full time member of NCIS?" I stared at her, my mind went blank. "I beg your pardon, Director," I said, "but are you seriously offering me a job at NCIS?" She nodded her head and smiled at me. "Yes, Madison, I've read up on your files and realized that you would make a perfect addition to Gibbs' team. All you would have to do is complete the fifteen week basic training course." I looked at her, still in shock, _this is too good to be true_, I thought. I left out a sigh, "Director Sheppard," I started, "I appreciate the job offer, I really do. But \, you've just gone through a very traumatizing series of events. If you would still like me to join NCIS as a full member of the team after you are discharged from the hospital, I would love to take you up on the offer. But, for now, you should focus all of your energy on getting better so you don't get behind on your work." I smiled at her, picked up my coffee, and left the room, allowing the doctor to enter behind me.

The halls of the hospital were dark and empty as I glided through them at midnight after seeing the director. My expression remained emotionless as I made my way towards the elevator. Once it arrived, I sat down in the corner of the small metallic box, thinking over my decision. _If I do end up taking the job offer_, I thought, _I would ultimately end up having to spill my secret to the rest of the team. I mean, NCIS is all I've ever wanted, but is it too risky to chance?_ Frustrated, I leaned my head back against the cool metal wall, closed my eyes, and became one with the silence around me. Moments later, I heard the door of the elevator slide open. Someone walked in, sat beside me on the floor, and put a strong arm around my shoulder so that I was leaning more on him than the wall. "Hi, Gibbs," I said, recognizing his scent. He chuckled as I opened my eyes to see his smiling face. "I came to say thank you for saving Jenny," he said. "Don't thank me," I told him, brushing off the statement, "I was just being a Good Samaritan." "Well, you've earned _my_ trust," he smiled down at me, kissing the top of my head. My eyes widened as a wave of guilt washed through me. _I might have to make that decision sooner rather than _later, I thought. We stood up and walked out as the doors slid open on the ground floor.

"Ah, Madison, Jethro, there you are," said Uncle Ducky, as we walked into the waiting room. "Hey, Duck," said Gibbs, "mind if I borrow Madison for a little bit?" "Well, Jethro, it's completely up to her, she's nineteen you know," replied Uncle Ducky, looking to me for a response. "I'll be back later, Uncle Ducky," I said, following Gibbs outside. "So, where are we going?" I asked, following him over to my bike. He got on, tossing my helmet to me. "What, exactly, do you think you're doing?" I asked incredulously. "What?" he asked, putting on the other helmet. "My bike, I'm driving. He slid back, leaving me enough room for me to slide on in front of him. I mounted the bike and started the engine. "So where are we going?" I repeated my earlier question. "My house," he simply stated. I turned around to face him, pulling my visor up. "Which is _where_?" I hissed, getting annoyed with his little game. He smirked, "Just drive." I turned back around, mumbling "hold on, marine," before I gunned the gas, flying out of the parking lot and down the darkened street.

I followed the directions that he gave me, and found myself parked in the driveway in front of his house. We took off our helmets and dismounted my bike, walked up to the front door and went inside. I watched as Gibbs retreated upstairs, calling back to me over his shoulder. "Food's in the fridge, help yourself." I walked through the house and into the kitchen. Opening the refrigerator, I found eight or so boxes of Chinese food, a pizza box, and around fifteen bottles of beer. I was just about to help myself to a slice of pizza when Gibbs tossed a bundle of clothing into my open hands. Grabbing a beer and slice of pizza out of the fridge, he spoke. "Bathroom's down the hall to your left come into the basement when you're done getting changed." I nodded my head, walking to the bathroom and shutting the door behind me. Unraveling the bundle of clothes that had been thrown at me, I found long black sweat pants and a grey Navy t-shirt. Throwing my bloodied clothing into the waste bin, I walked back into the kitchen and settled on a box of shrimp lo mein before walking down the stairs and into the basement.

Upon my arrival in the basement I found out three distinct pieces of information about Gibbs.

1.) He listens to soft oldies music

2.) He drinks Bourbon

3.) He was currently building a boat

I stopped there, at the bottom of the stairs, just taking in the whole project. _Yep,_ I thought, _that is definitely a boat_. Then I noticed Gibbs, sitting by an empty space on his workbench. He patted the empty spot, signaling for me to come and take a seat. I walked over and sat down, then started on my lo mein. "You made a tough decision today," Gibbs commented, breaking the silence that was starting to fill the room. My eyes grew wide as I nearly choked on my food. "Who told you?" I asked, putting the to-go box at my side. "You did, just now," he smirked, "I had a gut feeling, and you just confirmed it." "She offered me a job," I informed him, resuming my dinner. He look expectantly at me, "And?" "And," I continued, "I told her that if she still wants me to work for NCIS as an official agent after she's out of the hospital, than I would take it into consideration. But I couldn't say yes to her in the state she was in, she could have been undergoing post traumatic stress and been making rash decisions." "Well, I'm proud of you," he said, taking a bite out of his pizza. I put my food down again as another wave of guilt washed over me.

"Gibbs?" I said, folding my hands across my lap, "I… there's something I need to tell you." He put down his pizza and sat back on his stool, give me his full attention. I looked at him skeptically for a moment, still slightly unsure of whether or not I should tell him my secret. "Will you keep my secret?" I asked him, my violet eyes begged for his cooperation. "I _can_ do that," he joked. "This is serious!" I yelled at him, "I've never told anyone this, not even my own parents, and you're treating this as if it were a joke!" I threw my hands up in frustration and got up off of the workbench. I was just about to leave when I felt his hand on my shoulder. "Madison," he said, "you have my word, as a former marine. This stays between you and me." I looked him in the eye, searching for any sign of dishonesty. Finding none, I let out a sigh and sat back up on the workbench.

"About three years ago I went camping with my boy – ex-boyfriend over spring break," I started, my eyes glossing over in memory. "Jonathan had invited me to go stargazing with him the weekend before he was due to go out to sea. He was planning on being a part of the Queen's Royal Navy Corps, he was only nineteen. While we were camping, we were attacked by a feral animal, a massive red fox." I paused, wiping at the tears that were beginning to form at the edges of my eyes. "Long story short, Jonathan dies trying to protect me from that monstrous creature and I got out of it with barely anything really." I pulled up the hem of the t-shirt to reveal a three pronged scar that extended from the base of my ribcage on the right side of my back and ended somewhere around the front right side of my pelvic bone. The scar was a deep purple color and about three inches by fifteen inches in length. "I was sent to the hospital for stitches, one hundred thirty five, to be exact. I stayed overnight at the hospital for three days, making sure the stitches were working right and all. When I finally came home, I noticed small changes that I my body began to undergo; I began to show faint animalistic traits. I conducted a few minor blood tests and noticed large almost unrecognizable traces of an infection-born mutation. I monitored myself for a few days following and discovered that I had developed new abilities. Gibbs, you are the only other person that I have ever told this to. My mutation is the reason that I could tell the scent of the chemical that was used in the serial killing. My nose is a million times stronger than that of a human. I have claws, incisors that secrete poison, infinite speed and stamina. I'm like every animal on this planet wrapped up into one body."

I looked to Gibbs for his reaction, but all he did was stare. "Don't just stare at me like I'm some sort of freak, say something," I pleaded. He snapped out of his trance and placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "I cannot wait to have you on my team," he said, pulling me into a hug. I smiled and hugged him back, looking over his shoulder to the clock hanging on the wall. "I better get home," I said, as we released each other and started up the stairs, "don't want to keep Uncle Ducky waiting for too long." Gibbs nodded, escorting me out the front door and over to my bike. "Have a nice weekend, Madison," he called after me as I drove off down the dark street.

I got home around 1:30AM and walked in to Uncle Ducky dozing in his armchair, a paperback copy of U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton sat opened on his lap. Marking the page in his book, I silently set it down and grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch. I kissed his forehead as I covered him up with the soft wool blanket, "goodnight, Uncle Ducky." I smiled at his peaceful form as I walked away to lock the front door and head upstairs to my room. Once in my room, I grabbed a towel, clean pajama shirt, and undergarments, before walking into my bathroom, ready to wash away the blood and grime of the day's activities. I disrobed and stepped into the hot shower , enjoying the steamy scent of warm French vanilla as I washed my hair and skin.

I emerged from the bathroom fifteen minutes later, at 2:00AM. My long blond hair was pulled back into a French braid, dampening my Green Day night shirt. I quickly finished unpacking, using my cheetah-like speed and was done and asleep before three.


	5. Dinner in DC

**Chapter Five: Dinner in DC**

I woke up two hours later at 5:00AM, and went to my closet to get changed. I decided on a short black pleated skirt, a shot sleeved, light grey polo shirt, and a pair of matching grey flip-flops. Uncle Ducky had promised to take me on a tour of DC sometime this weekend, and I had decided to go today. Now, I know what you're probably thinking. How on earth can I be so perky at 5:00AM on a Saturday in the middle of the summer? Well, it's just another side effect of the mutation. You see, during the summer, I only need eighteen hours of sleep per week, thirty three in the spring and fall, and forty eight in the winter. I know, it's weird, but I like to think of it as my version of being nocturnal, diurnal, and hibernating all wrapped up into one. Anyway, after I got dressed, I walked down the stairs and into the kitchen to make breakfast.

By ten, Uncle Ducky and I had eaten our breakfasts and were now being driven around uptown DC by means of limousine. It was nearing ninety degrees in temperature when we had left, but Uncle Ducky assured me that it would get cooler in the late afternoon. "Ah, I guess this is quite a change from the moderate temperatures of London," said Uncle Ducky. "Yeah…" I trailed off, the scenery out the limo window changing from the lush greens of DC to the dull grays that I was so accustomed to back in England. I remembered how I used to trace the patterns that the raindrops made as they slid down the tinted windows. How I used to pretend that it was sunny outside. How I longed for the rain to end, looking forward to the small amount of time I could go outside before the rain clouded the skies once more. I smiled lightly to myself. "Are you alright, deary?" asked Uncle Ducky from his seat across from me. "Hmm?" I said, snapping out of my fantasy, "oh, yes, I'm fine, just reminiscing is all." He gave me a look of speculation before smiling back at me.

We drove all over DC, stopping at a few Smithsonians', a small café, and finally stopping for dinner at The Source, a fine dining restaurant on Pennsylvania Avenue in the heart of Washington DC. "Welcome to The Source, the finest restaurant in the whole capital," said our waiter, a young man with bright blue eyes, tan skin, and short dark blond hair. "My name is Alex," he motioned to him name tag, "and I'll be your waiter for tonight," he finished, leading us to our table on the second floor balcony, his eyes twinkling under the stars. After giving the menu a once over, Uncle Ducky announced his drink selection. "Well, my boy, could you get me a tonic and lime?" "Excellent choice, sir," said Alex, "and for you, ma'am?" "I'll take a cabernet sauvignon and a tall glass of water, please," I smiled up at him. He smiled back, "right away, miss," he said before disappearing through frosted glass doors.

Once I diverted my attention back to the menu, Uncle Ducky decided to strike up a conversation. "So, Madison," he said, folding his hands on the table, "how are you enjoying your stay in the states so far?" "I love it here," I smiled, "everything is so pretty and colorful, and everyone at NCIS is so nice and friendly. Thank you so much for allowing me to stay with you, Uncle Ducky!" He merely smiled, waving off the thank you.

My smile grew as Alex came back to the table, drinks in hand. "Tonic and lime for the gentleman," he said, giving Uncle Ducky his drink, "and a cabernet sauvignon and water for the lady." He smiled at me once more before taking out his notepad. "Now, if you're ready, I can take your orders." I looked across the booth at Uncle Ducky, who nodded his head in affirmation before opening his mouth to give his order. Could I have the Lacquered Chinese Duckling, Lo Mein Noodles, Star Anise Infused Bing Cherries?" "Certainly," Alex replied, writing the order down on his notepad, "and for you, Miss?" "I'll take the Szechuan Filet "Au Poivre" with Wild Mushrooms and Caramelized Shallot Sauce, please," I said, my eyes never leaving his. "Of course, I'll have your food out shortly," he said, before retreating back into the kitchen. "Oh, I almost forgot," said Uncle Ducky, as he folded his hands on the table, "Director Sheppard called for you while we were at the Air and Space Smithsonian." I furrowed my brow in question. "She's out of the hospital and would like to meet with you first thing Monday morning," he paused and looked at me curiously, "is there something I should know about Madison?" A smile lit up my tanned features, extending all the way up to my violet eyes. "You'll know as soon as I do," I reassured him. We smiled at each other for a moment longer before Alex came back with our food.

"For you, Sir," he said, giving Uncle Ducky his duck, "and for you, Miss," He said, setting down my food as well. "Enjoy," he said with a smile, before retreating back to the front desk, just a few tables behind Uncle Ducky. He turned around with a smile and winked at me. I felt my face heat up ever so slightly as a barely-there-blush tinted my cheeks. I smiled to myself and looked down at my food.

Dinner went smoothly; Uncle Ducky and I talked about NCIS, mainly Gibbs and his team. One name, however, stuck out in my mind. "Uncle Ducky, whatever happened to Mr. Palmer?" I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me. "Oh, Mr. Palmer had a mild food poisoning issue that he had to attend to," he leaned in closer and whispered, "his girlfriend isn't the best cook in DC, if you know what I mean." He sat back and we both shared a good laugh. It went on like that until Alex came back with our bill. Without looking at it, I fished out my credit card and handed it to Alex. Uncle Ducky gave me a stern look after Alex had walked off. I quickly put my hands up in defense. "You paid for everything else today," I told him, "this is my way of thanking you." He smiled and stepped out of the booth. "Well, thank you, Madison."

Just then, Alex came back with my card. Uncle Ducky looked between the two of us. "If you'd excuse me," Uncle Ducky said walking off towards the men's room, leaving me with Alex. Alex started walking back to the desk when I called after him. "Hey, Alex?" He turned around. "When does your shift end?" I asked, resting my elbows on the table and my chin on my folded hands. "Well, that depends," he walked back, "are you free tonight?" I smirked at him, quickly writing my cell phone number on a napkin. "I'll meet you back here at nine," I said standing up and tucking the paper napkin into his shirt pocket. "I'll see you then, Madison," he said, kissing my hand. I smiled as we went our separate ways.

I found Uncle Ducky in the back seat of the limo, striking up a conversation with Charlie. I listened to them talk the whole way home, it was something about a dead marine that was murdered then stuffed into a chimney and smoked like jerky.

Once we were home, Uncle Ducky informed me that some of his friends were coming over to play bridge, and, in turn, I told him that I would be out late and not to wait up for me. "I'll see you in the morning," I called over my shoulder as I walked the short distance to the limousine. "Where to, Miss. Redmond?" asked Charlie once he took his place up front. "Back to the restaurant," I said as we drove off into the night.


	6. Movies, Men, and More?

**Chapter Six: Movies, Men, and More?**

"You look amazing," Alex said as he helped me out of the limo. I looked down at my new outfit, a dark-wash miniskirt, light grey stiletto boots, a light grey baby-doll tank top, and a long, thin, black ¾ sleeve cotton sweater that came down to my mid thy. "Thank you," I replied with a smile. He smiled back, taking my hand in his and escorting me through the parking lot to his black and white Audi R8. "Milady," he said as he opened the passenger side door. I giggle slightly before stepping into the car. Alex walked around to the driver's side after shutting my door, and drove out of the parking lot. "So, where are we going, exactly?" I asked as he pulled onto the highway. "I was thinking that we could see a movie," he told me, "got anything in mind?" I thought for a moment before an idea popped into my mind. "Battle Los Angeles?" I suggested, waiting for his reaction. A smile played on his lips, "perfect."

After the movie, Alex and I walked across the street to a small café. "Table for two, Alex said as he took my hand in his. "Right this way," said a woman with short brown hair and a southern accent. She led us over to a small booth next to a window. "So, Alex," I said, as we took our seats across from each other, "I've told you everything you wanted to know about me, tell me some stuff about you." He smiled at me as the waitress brought us our coffee. "Well, let's see," he started, "I was born in Red Cloud, Nebraska. Lived with my parents and my dog, Crimson, on our farm till I was nineteen. After my mom died three years ago, I moved over to DC, rented an apartment, and have had a part time job at The Source while I've been taking classes online. I'm aiming to get my Masters degree in Criminology." "Nice," I commented, slightly surprised by his lack of a past.

"So," he said as I took a sip of my coffee, "what are you doing tomorrow night?" I put the small white mug back on the table. "Hm, let me think, tomorrow's Sunday, right?" He nodded his head, smiling at my ignorance. "Nothing comes to mind," I told him, my violet eyes dancing in the florescent ceiling lights. "Well then," he said, resting his head in his hands and leaning across the table, "I'll have to change that, now won't I? How about a moonlit picnic?" I smirked, matching his stance before leaning across the table to kiss him. "I'd love to," I said as I pulled away.

The rest of the date went by smoothly; we finally left the café around 1:30AM. "Thank you for the date tonight," I said as Alex parked in front of Uncle Ducky's house. "I'll pick you up here tomorrow at eight," he said, as I unbuckled my seatbelt. "I'll see you then, Alexander," I purred as I leaned in for another kiss. We broke apart moments later and I smiled, pecked him on the cheek, and exited the car. I walked up to the front porch, turning around and waving as he drove off down the street. I walked inside, locking the door behind me. Doing a quick scan of the first floor, I assumed that Uncle Ducky was probably asleep already. I silently tip-toed up the stairs and took a quick shower before slipping into my night shirt and falling asleep in my bed.


	7. Kidnapped

_AN: This chapter is broken up into several parts based on point of view, setting, and events. The parts are separated by the asterisk (*). Also I wanted to let you guys know that this fan-fiction is slightly AU. What I mean by that is, this is suppose to take place around the beginning of season 3 however I'm pretending that the team is how they are in the later seasons(mainly how Ziva acts); and I'm also gonna say that Kyle Boone was broken out of jail by his younger brother, Jacob (another child that their prostitute mother had before Kyle had a chance to kill her). Also, in response to a review (reviews are like cookies, feed the cookie monster!), I'm saying that the drinking age is 18 in America. I apologize for any confusion, now back to the story!_

**Chapter Seven: Kidnapped**

I woke up at four to the beautiful scene ever. Through my window, I could see the sun just beginning to rise, painting the sky with astonishing hues of reds and oranges. A smile lit up my features as I walked over to my desk and picked up my sketch pad and pencils. Sitting down on the stone railing of my balcony, I got to work on the tree line, accentuating the lively green of the leaves. I finished my drawing two hours later, when the sun had moved to just above the roof tops of DC. Content with my art work, I began to reflect on my past two days in the states with my uncle. Before I knew it, I was sketching charcoal copies of the team. First was Uncle Ducky, with his shiny glasses and patterned bowtie. I drew him standing next to Gibbs, just like when I had first arrived in this strange country.

Then I drew Tim, Ziva, and Tony, they were standing in the office where I had first been introduced to them. Next came Abby, she was standing in my room, staring wide-eyed at my CD collection. Then, I drew the director, sitting up in her hospital bed, smiling as she offered me a full time position with my uncle and new found friends. Finally, I drew Alex. I drew his warm blue eyes that seemed to jump out of his tanned skin with his cropped dirty blond hair. I sighed silently as I gave my sketches one last look before climbing off of the balcony, setting my book on my bed, and venturing to my closet to pick out today's outfit. Settling on faded green cotton shorts, a loose white tank-top, light purple scarf, and matching converse All-Stars, I walked downstairs to be greeted by Tyson and Contessa, two of Uncle Ducky's pet corgis. "And how are you, today?" I asked, bending over to scratch Contessa behind the ear. "Well, I'm doing just fine," a voice said, as a pair of black combat boots appeared in my vision. Slowly, I stood up before looking at the face of the intruder. "Oh my God, Alex," I breathed out, "you scared me." "Good," he said, as my smile faded into confusion. "Wha–" I was cut off as his arm came around and hit me in the back of the neck, hard. I fell to the ground as my world faded to black. Only the sounds of the dogs barking and a weapon loading were audible as I slipped into unconsciousness.

I woke up much later with a killer migraine. I was lying on my left side, a gag in my mouth, and my hands and feet bound. I heard voices behind me and shut my eyes once more. "Jake! Jake, please!" a girl pleaded, her voice sounded strangled and dry. I winced as the girl let out one last strangled cry before the squishy, gurgling sound of a hunting knife consumed her last dying shriek. I cringed, not wanting to know the torture that that girl must have gone through before her untimely death. "Aw, it's no fun when they're dead," the man known as Jake complained. "Now," he continued, "whose going to wake up next?" Footsteps. "Shirley?" Thud. "Nope." More footsteps. "Dana?" Thud. "Nope." The footsteps grew louder. "How about you, Madison?" A pain shot through my stomach as I flew across the room and into a nearby wall. My eyes shot open as my mouth filled with blood. "Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!" the man yelled, grinning like an idiot. "Alex?" I choked out through the bloodied gag, finally getting to look at my captor. Sure enough, it was Alex, he wore black steel-toed combat boots, multi-shaded grey camouflage cargo pants, and a grey, blood-splattered wife beater. "Actually, the name's Jacob," he smirked, squatting down to untie my gag. "Now, tell me," he said, still smirking at my crippled figure, "have you ever heard of a man by the name of Kyle Boone?"

* * * Meanwhile * * *

Gibbs sped over to Ducky's house and ran into the backyard – where he had gotten a call from the emergency phone in Ducky's shed. Grabbing a pick ax, Gibbs got to work removing the lock from the door of the shed. Finally, the lock broke and he was able to open the door. "Jethro," Ducky breathed out, stepping out of the shed, "he has Madison." Tears began to well in the old medical examiner's eyes. "We're gonna get her back, Duck," said Gibbs, escorting Ducky to his car.

Thirty minutes later, the whole team was piled into the conference room. "Why on Earth would someone want to kidnap Madison?" asked Abby, who appeared frazzled by the disappearance of her newest friend. "I mean," she continued, pacing a side of the room, "she's like the nicest person I know and I know a lot of really nice people, well not more then the average parson, but—" "Abby, sit down," Gibbs interrupted as he walked into the room, coffee in hand. "No! No I will not sit down! Not until I know that Madison is alive and safe… And alive!" Abby ranted, throwing her hand up for emphasis. "Abby," Gibbs warned, sending her a stern look and taking a seat next to Ducky. "Fine," she huffed, sitting on Ducky's other side, across from Tim, Ziva, and Tony. "Mean Boss-man," she muttered under her breath. "Heard that," Gibbs replied. "Now," he started, setting down his cup of coffee, "what do we know?" "Well," Tony was the first to speak; "we know that she's 5'8", thin, tan, blonde, 19, female…" he trailed off. "And fits the description of the victims of last week's cold case," Ziva cut in, earning a glare from Abby.

"McGee, Abby, go re-evaluate the evidence from last week's case," Gibbs barked and stood up, "Ducky, get a hold of Madison's parents, tell them she's missing but not to do anything until we get more details. Ziva, Tony, grab your gear, you're coming with me." "Where we going, boss?" asked Tony, as they followed Gibbs out of the conference room, grabbed their bags, and ran after Gibbs into the elevator. "To our crime scene," Gibbs replied nonchalantly, as the elevator doors sealed shut.

* * * Madison's POV * * *

"I asked you a question, Madison," he growled, standing up. He kicked me, hard, in the ribs, sending me rolling across the cold, hard, concrete floor. I let out a strangled cry of anguish. "No!" I gasped out, choking on my own blood. "Aw, pity you won't be able to meet him," he sneered, the malicious smirk never leaving his features. "You see," he continued, "You'll be dead before long and he won't be here till tomorrow. Such a shame, he would probably have liked you, too. He would want to kill you all by himself, no help from his baby brother. So I'm gonna keep you all to myself until you end up like some of my other artwork," he finished, dropping a large scrapbook on the floor. It opened to pages of picture of girls, all bloody and broken with either a heart or a star carved in each of their backs. I turned my head from the horrifying pictures only to be grabbed roughly by the chin and forced to look at the gruesome photos.

I began squirming, finding an even more powerful urge to get away from this man than previously. "Nh, nh, nh, now where do you think you're going?" he asked, pulling me up roughly by the arm, "I still want to play with you!" My eyes widened in horror as he took out a switch blade and took a swing at me with it. I jumped back as the blade came in contact with my abdomen, but fell back as I lost my footing on my bound feet. I screamed in pain, tears brimming my eyes. "You monster," I cried as he stabbed me in the shoulder. Blackness began to fill my vision as his maniacal laughter followed me into unconsciousness. I was going to die, and for the first time in what felt like forever, I was truly afraid.

* * * At Ducky's House * * *

"Clear!" yelled Tony, checking the last of the rooms in Ducky's enormous house. "Gibbs!" yelled Ziva, from the backyard, "I got something!" Gibbs and Tony ran to the backyard to see Ziva squatting down by a small purple flower and an indentation in the grass. "Do you know what this is, boss?" asked Tony, who carefully pick up the flower with a gloved hand, "this is the calling card from last week's murders." "An earleaf false-foxglove to be exact," Ziva cut in, "an extremely rare flower found only in West Virginia." "Hey boss," Tony said, studying the boot print indentation that was next to the flower, "this print has letters in it. K-C-A-B-S-E-N-O-O-B, does that have any meaning to you?" Ziva gasped, "Boone's back," she clarified. Gibbs looked horrified for a brief second before his mask came back. "Ziva, bag and tag, Tony, pictures. I want _this_," he pointed to the boot print, "to Abby in twenty minutes." "On it boss!" Tony said as they got to work. Gibbs ran back to his car and peeled out of the driveway faster then a speeding bullet.

* * * In the Lab, Two Hours Later * * *

"Tell me you've got something, Abby," said Gibbs, as he handed her a Caff-Pow. "No, Gibbs," Abby protested, "I can't accept this, not until we find Maddi and she's back here safe and sound and unharmed." She looked up from her computer. "But I do have something for you, Gibbs," she said, getting back to the original reason that he had come down to her lab, "by going over the roll of film that we found in the van with the tub, we've found out that these murders could possibly be from multiple people working together to target these girls. That and I've triangulated an approximate location of at least one of the killers." A picture of an abandoned bard came up on the TV screen. "A barn?" Gibbs clarified, "Do you understand how many barns are on the east coast alone? Millions!" "Yeah, I know _that_, Gibbs," Abby smirked, "but, by defining the pixilation of the three picture containing windows, I found a transducer, a pepto-bismal-pink house, and a tree." "And this helps me how, Abby?" Gibbs growled. "Well…" Abby continued, "This," she pointed to the tree that was now on the monitor, "is a rare Ashe Birch, an endangered tree found only in one place in the whole world, guess where." Abby smiled in anticipation as Gibbs just stared at her incredulously. "Virginia." "Nope… Wait, yeah, that's right, how'd you know that?" "I have my ways," Gibbs muttered as he started at the elevator. "Wait, Gibbs!" Abby said, latching onto his arm and steering him back into her lab. "I'm not done. We're running scans on what a layout of the land is supposed to look like, so we should have a match in—" "Now" McGee interrupted, as he rushed into the lab, a map and coordinate papers in hand. "Address?" Gibbs asked impatiently. "2100 Farm View Road, Fincastle, Botetourt, Virginia, 24085." "McGee!" yelled Gibbs from the elevator, "get Tony and Ziva from Ducky's then meet me at the farm."

* * * Madison's POV * * *

"Wake up, princess," Jacob yelled, yanking me up by my hair. I hissed in pain but tried not to give him the satisfaction of hearing me scream. I was coming out of my second round of unconsciousness that day, and I had a feeling that this time would be far worse than the previous. "Now, now, princess, you don't seem to understand, I _want_ to hear you scream," he whispered in my ear as he drug a razor-sharp piece of metal down my arm. I sealed my eyes shut and gritted my teeth. "I thought I told you to SCREAM!" he yelled, forcing the metal deeper and deeper into my bloodied arm. My resolve broke then as I let out the loudest scream of my life. Then, the door to the barn was flung open. "HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE THEM!" Gibbs yelled, pointing his gun at Jacob.

"Gibbs!" I called as Jacob pulled me roughly to my feet and put his switch-blade to my neck. "Now, now, princess, whose your friend? I don't remember sending out any invitations to your funeral," Jacob coaxed, running his free hand through my hair. Gibbs took a step forward and put his hands in the air in a sign of peace, "let her go," he commanded. "Uh… No, you see, that's not how my game works," Jacob smirked, cutting into my neck just enough to cause immense pain but not enough to kill. My eyes stared to well up with tears, "Gibbs," I cried, "help me." "Ziva, NOW!" Gibbs yelled, darting forward as he replaced his gun back in its holster.

Then, time stopped. The unmistakable sound of a bullet passing through a body sounded behind me. Blood splatted on the ground around us as the knife clattered to the ground at my feet. We both began to fall forward. I hit the ground first. My bod was numb. Before I knew it, Jacob's lifeless body was lifted off of me and my bindings were cut. Someone picked me up and began walking out of the barn and over to an awaiting stretcher and ambulance. I looked up at the man who was carrying me and saw Gibbs. "Oh, Gibbs," I sobbed, "I don't want t be here anymore." "I no, I no, he cooed, as he laid me down in the stretcher. I grabbed onto the sleeve of his shirt as the EMTs began to load me into the ambulance. "Don't let them take me, Gibbs," I begged, "I can' go to the hospital. Take me back to NCIS, I want to see Uncle Ducky… to… make sure… he's… okay…" My vision blurred as my body went limp and my sight was lost to the unending void that was unconsciousness.


	8. Case Closed? Not Quite!

**Chapter 8: Case Closed? Not Quite!**

When I woke up, I was laying on a gurney. There was an IV bag set up above me to my right. I turned to my left and saw Uncle Ducky sitting on a small metal bench. I felt the room shake a bit, then I head Uncle Ducky speak, "careful Anthony," he chided. "Tell that to the moron in front of me," he retorted, as the room shook again, "starting and stopping, starting and stopping, he shouldn't be able to get a license if he can't drive!" I let out a small laugh, but it came out more as a strangled cough. "Oh, thank God you're awake, Madison," said Uncle Ducky as he leaned across the small space between us to hold my hand. "Where are we going?" I asked, my voice sounded hoarse. Uncle Ducky opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by a voice from the front seat. "NCIS," said Gibbs, as we pulled into what felt like the evidence garage. "Yes, Madison," Uncle Ducky asked, "why is it that you didn't want to be admitted to a hospital?" I opened my mouth to answer him but closed it again when the back doors opened to reveal Tony and Gibbs. Together, they wheeled me out of the van and into an awaiting elevator, where Abby stood anxiously waiting our arrival. She handed me a water bottle and propped the gurney into a more upright position, "here, drink up, it will help replace the fluid you've lost." I told the water bottle from her and was about to open it when I was enveloped in a hug. "Do you know how worried we were about you?" I let out a small hiss of pain and Abby let go immediately, "sorry!" she yelped, as she took a step back.

Once we were all in the elevator and I had drunk my water, I motioned for Gibbs to hit the power switch. "Uncle Ducky," I started, sitting up straighter, "I haven't been completely honest with you these past couple days." "Now, that's quite alright, dearie—" "No, let me finish," I cut him off, "there's something I have to—_want_ to tell you. Director Sheppard called me last night after dinner, she offered me a job here as a forensics field agent, you know, kind of like Abby's personal assistant that goes to the crime scene to see the evidence first hand. Well, I accepted the job, and I figure that if we are all going to be working together then I have something that I have to explain to all of you. The reason that I refused to go to the hospital was because I'm not exactly what you'd call human," I paused to let the information sink in a little bit. "So what are you then, some big scary monster?" Tony joked, which earned him a head slap from Gibbs and a punch in the shoulder from Abby, who were on either side of him. "Actually, Tony, you're not too far off base. A couple years back, I was infected," I said, pulling up the bottom of my shirt far enough to reveal my scars. An audible gasp sounded from the elevator from everyone except Gibbs and myself. "What is that?" Uncle Ducky asked worriedly, "I've never seen scars like that before in my life." "This," I started, "is a three year old scar, given to me by an infectious fox furring a camping trip. The infection transformed into a mutation and gave me special abilities. I have venomous, elongated canines," I said, as I pointed to my teeth, "diamond hard claws," I showed them my nails, "extremely acute senses, and insane strength and speed. However, this mutation also comes with its fair share of negative attributes. For example, I can't partake in anything that involves drawing blood, I can't go to hospitals, and I can't stay in a confined space for too long without going into a claustrophobia-induced shock, speaking of which, Gibbs, can you start up the elevator again?" He nodded and flipped the switch. "Do your parents know?" Abby asked, as I pulled the hem of my shirt back into its proper place. "No!" I blurted out, "and I hope they never have to."

The elevator doors opened then and I was wheeled away to the autopsy unit. "Oh, speaking of your parents," said Uncle Ducky, "I invited them to dinner this up coming Saturday." I looked at him for a moment before asking the dreaded question, "why?" "Because, Jethro had me have your parents on standby while we investigated your kidnapping. I didn't want to worry them so I stalled by inviting them over for dinner. Your dad loved the idea," Uncle Ducky clarified, as he helped me out of the stretcher and onto an autopsy table.

I sat on the table and watched as Uncle Ducky as he walked around the room and grabbed the sterilized equipment. He put a small basin underneath my arm, "this is going to sting a bit," he cautioned. He poured the peroxide on my wounded arm. At first, it didn't hurt, then the pain cut into me and I hissed out in agony.

Thirty minutes and twenty-eight stitches later, Uncle Ducky diagnosed me stable enough to walk around the building by myself, seeing as he had "another body to attend to," as he put it. I thanked him and walked down the hall to Abby's lab. I peered in through the open doorway and saw Tim's and Abby's eyes glued to a picture of a face on a monitor. It looked like a younger morphed version of Gibbs; they were calling it a "Gibblet." Silent as I could, I snuck up behind them. "What's a Gibblet?" I asked, successfully scaring the both of them into next week. "Geeze, Madi, you're even quieter than Gibbs," said McGee as he picked himself up off of the floor. I laughed and looked back to Abby. "But seriously, though," I said, "what _is_ a Gibblet?" "This, Madi, is a Gibblet," she said, as she gestured to the big screen. "A simulated spawn of Leroy Jethro Gibbs," she clarified. I howled with laughter for a moment before I realized that my more animalistic features were starting to dominate my human ones. "Hey, Abby?" I giggled, as I tried to suppress my overly giddy laughter, "do you have a lunar calendar handy by chance?"

She rolled back in her chair, propelling herself towards a file cabinet. "As a matter of fact," she opened a drawer and pulled out a black filing folder, "I do." She tossed me the folder and rolled back to Tim to resume their face making. Opening the folder, I found today's date almost immediately. "Damn it," I cursed under my breath as I returned the folder to Abby. "What's wrong?" Tim asked, actually sounding a little worried. "Ah, it's nothing," I said, feigning my previous state of cheerfulness. "Liar," Abby said, as she turned around to face me, her eyes narrowed in accusation. "Fine, you caught me," I said, throwing my hands up in defense. "For every full moon that occurs on the third Sunday of the month, I undergo a transformation. I know, it sound a little far fetched, but it's true, and tonight's a full moon on the third Sunday of the month." "So what, are you going to turn into a big bad 'where-wolf' or something?" ask Tony who had just recently walked in, with Ziva, on our conversation. I glared at him for mocking my condition, before continuing. "No, Anthony," I hissed, "my condition is a little more complex than that. You see, each month of the year has a specific animal associated with it. January is the artic fox, February is the Dalmatian, March is the lion, April is the timber wolf, May is the howler monkey, June is the cheetah, July is the panther, August is the red fox, September is the jaguar, October is the Siberian tiger, November is the tabby cat, and December is the snow leopard. Depending on the month in which the two other requirements are met, I am transformed into that animal at sunset and remain in the form till dawn." "You're joking, right?" asked Ziva, clearly doubting the truthfulness of my previous rant. "You can see for yourself if you want," I challenged, "I still need to find an isolated location within" – I looked at Abby's wall clock – "the next two hours." "But sunset isn't for another three hours," McGee cut in. "I no," I said in a 'do-I-really-look-_that_-stupid' look on my face, "I'm allowing for travel time."

"So…" Abby said in an attempt to rid the room of the soon-to-be-awkward silence. "I take it we're going camping tonight?" "Look like we are," Gibbs said as he and Uncle Ducky entered the room with tent bags slung over their shoulders. Everyone – except for Gibbs – looked at me for an answer. "Fine," I breathed out, "so… Anyone know of any good camping sites nearby?" "I have a place in mind," Abby said as she smirked mischievously, "we could go to Dead Man's Creek." "Sounds good enough to me," I said. "Okay, team, grab your gear and meet in the lot at 17:00," Gibbs ordered as he walked out of the lab. "Ready to go, Madison?" Uncle Ducky called over his shoulder as he followed Gibbs into the elevator. "I'll meet you up there in a minute!" I called back, before I turned to face Abby, Tim, Tony, and Ziva. "There's only one rule you guys have to follow on this little excursion," I said, as my airy tone took on a more serious note, "during the first fifteen minutes of my transformation, stay as far away from me as possible, during that time, I'm at my most feral stage and I will – without hesitation – kill you if you get too close." They all nodded in affirmation before we all piled into the elevator to prepare for a night that we would be sure to remember.


	9. Full Moon Rising

Chapter 9: Full Moon Rising

"Is this everything?" I asked Uncle Ducky as I put the last of our camping gear in in my bike's half-full, detachable trailer. "Yes, dearie," he said as he locked the door to the house. "Well come on then," I replied as I started my bike, "we're gonna be late." I put on my helmet and mounted my bike before I handed Uncle Ducky a spare helmet once he was situated behind me. "Hold on!" I yelled through the com-link, as I revved the engine and sped off towards NCIS headquarters.

We finally pulled to a stop in front of Ziva and Abby. I cut the engine and took off my helmet. "Um, Uncle Ducky? You can let go now," I coaxed, as I pried myself from his vise grip. He took off his helmet and dismounted. "I'm sorry, Madison," Uncle Ducky said, "but motor-biking is definitely_ not_ my forte." "Wanna switch?" Abby offered, as she motioned to Gibb's car behind them. Uncle Ducky responded with a nod and passed the helmet off to Abby, looking relieved as ever. "Hey, you guys want to put your stuff in my trailer?" I asked as I set down my helmet, dismounted, and set the kickstand. Everyone nodded and took their stuff from the backs of Gibb's car and Ziva's car. Then, Tony and Tim puled into the lot. "What took you so long?" I asked, once they had parked and exited Tony's car. "Ask Mc-Cub-Scout over hear," Tony growled as he threw an enormous camping pack at Tim. He stumbled back a couple feet before Tim put the pack in the trailer. "Better safe than sorry," he said, adjusting the baseball cap on his head. "Meh-meh-meh-meh-meh-meh," Tony mocked as he scrunched up his face in a truly horrendous effort to imitate Tim. "Geeze, do you always do this?" I asked as I took Tony's duffle bag and tossed it in the trailer along with everyone else's stuff. "Do what?" asked Tony asked, seemingly perplexed. "Fight like an old married couple, I mean, seriously, when was the wedding?" Ziva and Abby took one look at Tim and Tony's faces and burst into laughter. "We do not!" exclaimed Tony, since he was the first to come out of his mental lapse. I simply raised an eyebrow at the two, than looked around for where Uncle Ducky had wandered off.

I spotted him sitting in the car with Gibbs, as they had a conversation and sipped coffee. I shut and locked the trailer and mounted my bike. "Come on people, we're burning daylight!" I said in a failed attempt to imitate Wil Anderson from the 1972 film The Cowboys. Tony shook his head disapprovingly before he followed Tim and Ziva into the back seat of Gibbs' car. I started the engine, and put down the visor on my helmet as Abby hopped on behind me. "Do you need directions?" Abby asked through the com-link. "Nope," I replied, as I pressed a few buttons on the bike's LCD screen, "Already have it programmed on my GPS." "Alright then, lets go!" she yell as I shot out of the parking lot with Gibbs trailing not far behind.

we arrived at Dead Man's Creek twenty minutes before sun down. We set up our tents in ten minutes, than I got to work on slipping into my harness, teaching Gibbs how to operate it (for when I would be in control of myself fifteen minutes after the transformation's settled), and securing the chain part around a thick oak tree. My harness consisted of a fifteen-foot, alloy chain two industrial strength carabineers, and an army strong climbing harness – pre-adjusted to my panther form. A five minutes till sundown, I drew a circle around the tree, which my harness was attached to, with a twenty-foot diameter. Then, I gave everyone one last warning and stepped into the harness, as I waited for the moon's light to take effect. Once the moonlight touched my skin, my bone started to shift. I let out an excruciating howl of pain as I crumpled to the ground.

After twenty minutes of unbearable pain, my transformation was complete. My violet eyes glowed gold in the moonlight as I surveyed my surroundings. Tony was the first to move towards my boundary line. I lunged at him, only to be caught by the chain, and yanked back; my claws only grazed the arm of his sweatshirt. "Tony, you stupid donkey!" Ziva yelled, as she pulled him back towards the rest of the group. "I think you mean 'dumb ass,' Ziva," Tim corrected as he stifled a laugh. For fifteen minutes, I paced back and forth through my little circle; never once did I take my eyes off of the prey that I called my team. Then, finally, the red that had clouded my vision before began to seep from my eyes as I regained the small amount of humanity that I still had.

Gibbs gave me another five minutes to fully calm down before he entered the circle to undo my harness. Once I was out of the harness I walked over to Tony and nuzzled the side of his leg; my way of apologizing for attacking him like I did. "Ha, you think you're so cute, don't you?" Tony replied sarcastically, as he continued to nurse his invisible wounds. That's when I started purring, which made Tony jump a few feet in the air. I snickered as I walked to the trailer and pressed the lever to unlock and open the door. I jumped in the trailer and emerged a few seconds later with a dark red duffle bag clutched in my jaws. I dropped the bag at Gibbs' feet. He opened it to reveal a surplus of modified dog toys. Then, took out a large glow-in-the-dark Frisbee and threw it. I chased after the glowing disk before jumping up and catching it in my mouth.

The night went on that way until around three in the morning, when everyone retreated to their tent to sleep. I, on the other hand, took to the tree for a well-deserved catnap – no pun intended – before dawn. At around five thirty, I retired to the trailer to await my final transformation. I probably woke everyone up with my howls of pain, but, as they say: it's never easy going back. By six, I was fully dressed in a clean set of clothes – the ones I had been wearing previously were shredded in the transformation process, hence the need for my trailer – and I was ready to go home. I exited my trailer to see everyone had already woken up and cleaned up the campsite. I walked over to Gibbs, "what's going on?" I asked. "We got a dead marine in the woods a couple miles south of here," he said. "Apparently you're not the only one who believes in the full moon theory," Abby added in as she threw her stuff in the trailer. Everyone followed suit and soon we were on out way to the location of our dead marine: Fox Hollow Woods.


	10. note

Author's Note:

Hey I know I haven't uploaded in a while, and I just want to take a moment to say how sorry I am. I've been meaning to update for sometime now, but I got caught up with applying to college, dealing with my mom going back to work full time, and the end of bowling season. Now, I know that's not really an excuse. But believe me when I say how truly sorry I am about the delay and I want to thank all of my loyal readers and reviewers, you are who I write for. Anyway, I also wanted to let you know that all my hard work has paid off and I have been accepted into my dream school! So now that that's done and over with, I have that much more time to concentrate on my stories! Now, the following is story specific information:

Naval Mutations: Should I pair Alex with Palmer? Please PM me with a response.

Generation Regenerate: I'm suffering from minor writers block… please bear with me and I should be up and writing again soon.

Legend of the Guardian: I WILL GET CHAPTER ONE UP SOON! I PROMISE!

Bleed It Out: This should turn into my fastest written fanfic, cause the chapters are so short, but please bear with me while I type them in my free time.

Noble Wolf, Meet Lowly Dog: Again, I WILL GET CHAPTER ONE UP SOON! I PROMISE!

On another note, could all of my loyal readers please do me the favor of taking the poll on my profile page to help me find out which story I should concentrate most of my time on? Thank you!


	11. Vampirism At It's Finest

Chapter 10: Vampirism at its Finest

Abby was right, someone else _really_ had a thing for the full moon. We arrived in Fox Hollow Woods to find our naval officer drained of her blood by two circular puncture wounds to the neck and a heart carved into her back. Next to her head was a boot print with backwards letters in the center. I held a compact to the print, "BOONESBACK," it said. Gibbs grabbed me by the arm and grabbed me away from the body "You are not done your training," he said as he escorted me back to his car. "Ziva, bag and tag, Tony, pictures, McGee, witness statements. I want to know how this marine died when we get back to base," he called over his shoulder.

The ride back to base was silent. When we got there, he lead me through the building until we got to a gym-like facility on the forth floor, where he tossed me a black standard NCIS duffle bag and told me to go get changed. I was skeptical at first, but then complied with his orders and went to the locker room to change. When I came back out, Gibbs and I were both dressed in regulation NCIS sweat suits – mine black and his grey – and the director was seated at a table in the far corner of the room. "Hello, director," I said. She nodded back at me. "I've decided that due to your 'unnatural circumstances' you only need to complete a modified version of the fitness test. Dr Mallard and Abby have thoroughly assured me of your forensic knowledge and criminology specialties. So, in order to become a fully inducted member of NCIS, you simply need to complete the obstacle course in the allotted amount of time, win at least one out of three sparring matches with Gibbs, and then test out your aim at the shooting range," she said, as she opened a black book and got ready to take notes. "Okay, director," I said, "just tell me when to start."

One broken record, three matches won, and some perfect shooting later, I was presented with my official NCIS Forensics Field Agent certificate. "Congratulations, Special Agent Redmond, I've never seen such amazing results on any other test in my life," she continued to praise me. She then handed me my badge and my new firearm. "You are now free to work with Agent Gibbs' team in the field, Special Agent Redmond," Director Sheppard said as she took her leave. Gibbs turned to me. "Go get changed, then head to Abby's lab for an update on the case." "Yes, sir," I replied before staring off towards the locker room. "Oh, and Madi," Gibbs called over his shoulder as he headed of in the opposite direction, "don't call me 'sir,' it makes me feel old." I smiled at his retreating form before stepping into the locker room to change.

Twenty minutes later, I walked into Abby's lab with my wet hair up in a messy bun, dressed in a fresh pair or jeans and a black V-neck T-shirt. "Madi! Congratulations!" Abby squealed as she threw her arms around me in a hug, "Gibbs just dropped off your ID card and cell phone for you." I returned the hug with a smile. After receiving my new cell and ID, I asked the question that I had been itching to ask since that morning: "What's the case about?" "Well, Ziva thinks it's a vampire hoax, Tony thinks we're going to meet Dracula soon – and has been quoting said movie ever since – Tim thinks it's a set up, Ducky is working on the autopsy with Palmer to find out what actually happened, and Gibbs is—" "Here," Gibbs interrupted as he walked into the room, "Whatcha got for me Abs?" Abby threw me a 'hold-on' look, before she spun around on her chair to face her computer. "Well, I looked at the boot-print mold that Tony so kindly made for me, the bottom of the boot had the words 'BOONESBACK' carved into the sole, which is really cool if you ask me—but I can see that you're not, so ill move on. Make a mental note that the same saying was found carved into Jacob Boone's left boot." Abby paused for a bit of dramatic effect, but quickly continued when Gibbs made a move to throw out the extra large Caff-Pow that he was holding. "Hold on Gibbs, I'm not done yet," she grabbed the caffeinated drink and sat it on the table in front of her.

"As I was saying, there were high traces od sodium chloride and hydrofluoric acid – another component that ties the murder to both Jacob and Kyle Boone – which means that our murderer wanted our Jane Doe to suffer before she died by trying to dissolve her blood while she was still alive. I'd assume it was a terrifying and painful experience for her to endure that kind of torture, and that the person that we're dealing with is a vicious sadist."

When Abby turned back around, Gibbs was gone. "When did he…?" I shrugged my shoulders and she huffed in defeat. "Anyway," Abby continued, "when we found our Jane Doe this morning, she had been dead for about four hours, a man found her while he was walking his dog through the woods. As I had briefly mentioned to Gibbs, there is an unmistakable tie between this murder, the acid bath murders, and Jake: the murderer. At all crime scenes, there was the single boot-print with the saying 'BOONESBACK' carved into the left sole, the use of hydrofluoric acid in the blood/ body disposal, and the fact that, in all three cases, the victims are all 18-21 years old, 5'6"-5'10", have blond hair, and have tan skin." "We're dealing with a group of serial killers," I breathed out the statement that I was sure Abby had been thinking. "I'll go tell Gibbs, this has to be stopped before more innocent lives are put in danger," I called over my shoulder as I rushed to the elevator.

When I got up to the bullpen, the team was gathered around the plasma screen. I watched, dumbfounded, at the images on the TV. Now, taking up the entirety of the TV screen, was an older version of Jacob. "Breaking news announcement," a new anchor said, "Kyle Boone has broken out of prison. I repeat: dangerous serial killer and mass murderer, Kyle Boone, has broken out of his solitary confinement cell at the Virginia State Penitentiary. This psychotic killer id incredibly dangerous and should not be confronted. If you see him contact your local authorities immediately. Remain indoors, lock all windows and doors, and do not leave the confines of your home. We are using all available resources at our disposal in order to catch this perpetrator." Then the screen went blank. "What if he's trying to build up an army?" I thought out loud. The team turned to me, finally noticing my arrival in the bullpen. "What are you talking about, Madi?" Tim asked. "Abby and I found a connection between our past three cases," I said, "and I'm now starting to believe that Kyle Boone's been in contact with his half brother, Jacob, and has been raising an army of serial killers. I know it sounds pretty far fetched, but I honestly think that Boone's trying to get revenge on who ever put him in jail in the first place."

Tony was the first to speak up. "Yeah, you're right, Madi," he said, with a rather thoughtful expression, "that idea _is_ pretty far fetched." I glared at him, "fine, Tony, if that's what you think, then, by all means, stay right where you are and follow up on all the leads that you don't have. _I'm_ going to check something out, if any of you feel the need to tag along later, then have Tim trace my cell location." With those last words, I made my way to the elevator and, before long, was flying down the streets toward Farm View Road, the location of my first kidnapping.


	12. FBI Stands for Foolish Blithering Idiots

Chapter 11: FBI Really Stands For" Foolish Blithering Idiots

When I had arrived at the barn that Jacob had hidden me in, only the yellow "DO NOT CROSS" security tape remained at the crime scene, everything else had been bagged and tagged and shipped back to the NCIS impound yard. I quickly scoped out the surrounding area, before making quick work of the security tape. I stashed my motorcycle in the back of the barn, behind an old broken down tractor, then I readied the scene for the show I would put on for one Mr Kyle Boone.

Hours later, I stood by the window of the barn, only close enough to see anyone approaching, but still far enough away that they wouldn't be able to see me. It was starting to get dark. I glanced at my watch. "_6:52, he should be here any minute now,_" I thought. Stepping away from the window, I placed a small piece of duct tape over my mouth, a shiny red bow on my head, and sat down with my back to a bail of hay that was conveniently placed in the middle of the barn.

I heard quick, heavy footsteps approaching the barn, so I put my hands behind my back, as if I had been hand cuffed, and feigned a panicked expression. Then, the door to the barn flew open, and I began to scream through the duct tape – my parents had always praised my acting skills. "Hey Jake, sorry I'm late, I–" he paused after shutting the door behind him, "now what's this?" he walked over and squatted down in front of me. "Did my little brother leave you as a welcome home present for me?" his head tilted slightly to the side, but the maliciously sadistic smirk stayed intact. "Oh, I just can't wait to kill you," he mused, as he stood up, "now, where would I find a knife?" he turned and walked towards a rusted old tool bench that stood next to the window.

As quietly as I could, I peeled off the duct tape, got to my feet, and crept up behind him. He must have felt my breath on his neck, because his whole body went ridged. "You couldn't kill me if you tried," I hissed in his ear, before bringing my elbow down on the pressure point in the crook of his neck. He fell from his crouched position and crumbled on the ground at my feet, unconscious.

Without taking my eyes off of him, I went to my bike to get the hand cuffs that Abby had lent me. After Boone was cuffed to a wooden post in the middle of the barn, I called Gibbs.

"Gibbs," he said. "Gibbs, I have Kyle Boone in my possession," there was a long pause, "have Tim track my phone to my location. Oh, and you might want to have someone make a call to the local penitentiary to give them an update, I'm sure they can't wait to have their prisoner back." I hung up and went back to watching my captive.

Twenty minutes later, I heard several cars come to a stop on the grass that surrounded the barn. "_That's way too many cars to be just NCIS_," I thought as I walked over to the window. Just as I got close enough to get a glimpse of the people surrounding my makeshift prison, the door was knocked clean off its hinges by a battering ram. "FBI! Hands where I can see 'em!" There must have been at least twenty uniformed FBI agents storming the barn, all donning the same black Kevlar vests. "You have got to be kidding me!" I said as cuffs were placed on my wrists, "I'm an NCIS agent! My credentials are in the motorcycle behind the tractor along with my ID and firearm." "Yeah right, we haven't gotten word of any new NCIS agents, and besides, you're too young to be working for the government anyway," an agent droned on as he dragged Boone and I away to a metal van.

Without a second's hesitation, I smashed my head back into my captor's nose and kicked his legs out from underneath him. This got the attention of the agent who looked to be in charge of this whole operation. "Listen Agent…" I barked as I searched his ID tag for a name, "Fornell, I am Special Agent Madison Redmond. I am the forensic field agent for team Gibbs. Now if you can get that through your bloody skull, then feel free to give him a call. But I swear that if you don't uncuff me in the next thirty seconds—" "No need to finish that threat, Madi," Gibbs said as he appeared in the doorway, flashing his credentials to the other agents. "Now, Fornell, I'd do as she says," Gibbs continued with a smirk of his own.

I turned back to Fornell, who nodded to the agent behind me, to uncuff me. The man, then, proceeded to unlock my cuffs, but not before trying to cop a feel of my backside. This action resulted in me turning around and punching him in the jaw. He was unconscious before he even hit the floor. "And as for you, Fornell," I yelled as I marched over to him and threw the cuffs at his feet, "you want to know what I think of the United State's FBI? They are a bunch of Foolish Blithering Idiots!"

I stomped over to my bike, put my helmet on, and started the engine. "Gibbs," I called over my shoulder, "if you need me, I'll be talking to my uncle." He nodded back an affirmative, and I was off, speeding out into the last rays of sunlight before darkness settled over the roads.


	13. Jimmy Palmer

Chapter 12: Jimmy Palmer

When I pulled into the NCIS headquarters, I was relatively calmer then I was when I was being accused of breaking Kyle Boone out of jail. It wasn't all that much to be proud of, but I hadn't destroyed anything in my angry rampage… yet, at least. Upon entering the building, I flashed my identification card to the officer at the front desk and stepped into the elevator that lead to autopsy.

"I would love to know what on Earth is so wrong with this country's legal system to where an officer of the law can be unjustly accused for crime in which she did not commit!" I ranted as I entered Autopsy. "Well, it looks like you just met the FBI," a voice came from the far corner of the room. I took up a fighting stance in the direction the voice came from, only to come face to face with a man dressed in light blue scrubs, cleaning medical equipment.

"Who are you and what have you done with my Uncle?" I barked. His head tilted slightly to the side in confusion, before a look of recognition swept over his facial features. "Oh my gosh, you must be Madison," he sputtered as her set down the scalpel he had been polishing and discarded his medical gloves. "I'm Dr Mallard's assistant I'm actually surprised that this is the first that I'm seeing of you, cause you've been here for what? The past five days?" I nodded my head, backed out of my defensive stance, and shook his extended hand. "I'm Jimmy, by the way," he said as he looked into my eyes.

As I stared back into his deep, pale green eyes, my previous anger towards the FBI faded into a distant memory, and I forgot, for a moment, what I was doing in Autopsy in the first place. In the recesses of my numbing mind, I noticed his head slowly leaning downs towards mine, as my chin tilted up to allow my lips to brush against his in a gentle embrace. Then, just as my lids were about to close and our lips were about to touch, the unmistakable drone of my Uncle's voice awoke, me from my haze and sent me and Jimmy jumping apart like oppositely charged magnets put head to head.

"Oh, Madison, looks like you've met Mr Palmer," Uncle Ducky said casually as he took off his hat and coat. "So, Dr Mallard, how was your dinner?" Jimmy asked from back across the room where he was now, once again, sterilizing the medical equipment, just like he was when I had first entered Autopsy. I stood there, mouth agape, as the two conversed about Uncle Ducky's dinner with his lady friend, Dr Katrina Martin of the Bethesda neural surgeon's division of DC. I started to wonder if I had just imagined the entire event between Jimmy and I, I mean, I wouldn't put it past myself, I had been know to hallucinate on occasions where I hadn't had enough sleep, or when I had too much caffeine, but those circumstance didn't have anything to do with my current situation. I continued my contemplations until Uncle Ducky took notice to my spacing and said something. "Um, I'm sorry Uncle Ducky, but I didn't catch that," I rubbed at the back of my neck – a nervous tick of mine. He shook his head in his typical disapproving manor before repeating what he had said. "I asked why you were so flustered, you don't have a fever or something, do you?" "No, Uncle Ducky, I don't have a fever, I was just worked up over the complete idiocy that is the FBI," I replied, finally remembering my reason for descending upon Autopsy in the first place.

I was just about done cooling off from my rant when Gibbs and Fornell entered the room. "Madison, a word please," Agent Fornell requested. I looked between Fornell's 'I-really-don't-want-to-be-here' expression and Gibbs' mischievous twinkling eyes, before deeming it safe to approach the FBI agent. I walked over to him and stood in a passive aggressive stance with my arms folded loosely under my chest, "you wanted something, Agent Fornell?" "On behalf of the FBI… I would like to apologize for our previous… aggressions… towards you. And now that we know who you are… we look forward to working with you in the future." I don't think that a single word that came out of his mouth wasn't forced. I nodded my head and watched as Gibbs escorted him out. By the time the doors shut behind them, I was clutching my sides, unable to hold in my laughter anymore. When Uncle Ducky and Jimmy started shooting me worried glances, however, I composed myself and gave them, what I deemed to be, an appropriate explanation. "I'm sorry," I said, "but watching a fully grown man apologize so unwillingly is simply hilarious in my opinion."

"Oh, well, carry on then," said Uncle Ducky, "oh, darn it all, I forgot my notes in the van again. Madison, would you be a dear and go get them for me, please?" "Of course, Uncle Ducky," I said as I walked out to the elevator. The doors were almost shut when I heard someone call to hold the elevator. I caught the door just before it closed to reveal none other than Jimmy Palmer. " Thanks," he breathed out as he stepped in next to me. I decided it was now-or-never if I ever wanted to find out what had happened when I first entered Autopsy. I flipped the switch to stop the elevator and turned to face him. "Listen, Jimmy," I said, avoiding eye contact as much as possible, "when I first came into Autopsy, earlier this evening, did you try to –" I was cut off as he captured my lips with his own in a gentle embrace.

When we pulled away, I was left breathless. Jimmy, then, leaned over me and flipped the elevator switch back on. I starred at my reflection in the mirrored door until the elevator opened and Jimmy walked out and across the hall to Abby's lab. My fingers found their way up to my lips, where the soft tissue still held the electric current that was given to them moments ago. I then shook my head clear of its previous romanticisms and pushed the button for the parking garage, to do the job that Uncle Ducky had sent me down to do in the first place.

Once I found the autopsy van, I unlocked it with the key Uncle Ducky had given me, grabbed his notes from the front seat, relocked the van, and proceeded back to Autopsy, where I found a certain ME's assistant and no sign of said ME. "Where'd Uncle Ducky run off to now?" Jimmy jumped slightly at the sound of my voice, and turned to see who had spooked him. "Oh, it's only you," he said with a sigh, "Dr Mallard's up with Abby, discussing some links from the Jacob Boone case to some other serial murders around the DC area." I nodded and set Uncle Ducky's notes down on his desk, before sitting down on the unused autopsy table closest to where Jimmy was cleaning the medical supplies. "So, Jimmy," I started, trying a last attempt to find out why he had kissed me. "Before you ask," he interrupted, as he looked at me over his shoulder, "I don't know why I kissed you." He was now facing me, clean medical supplies discarded on the towel next to the sink. My eyes widened slightly at his bold statement. "B-b-but—" I spluttered. "Let me finish," Jimmy said as he took two long strides towards me, quickly closed the gap between us. "I said I don't know _why_ I kissed you," he cupped my face in his hand, "but when I did, I felt an unparalleled electricity between us and I would like to feel it again if you'd let me." That wasn't necessarily the answer I had been looking for, but at least I knew that he had felt the electricity too. In response to his request, I slowly lifted up my chin and brushed our lips together. The electricity was back and spread like wild fire to where his other hand now rested on my waist, just above my hip. I felt my hands developing minds of their own as they wound their way up and around to the back of his neck to deepen the kiss.

Moments after we broke apart, breathing hard, I had only one thought in my mind as I starred back into his sea green eyes: I had just met Jimmy Palmer, and I was already falling fast.


End file.
